I think you can learn to sail it fairly quickly. It has a furling sail so you can always let out a little bit and get used to it. I wouldn't let the lack of experience stop you from getting one. It is too much fun to miss out on.

G'day Marshall, sailing is pretty easy to learn. If you mastered that mad 'Eskimo roll' you sea kayakers do, I reckon you'll find it a breeze. Besides which, there will probably be plenty of volunteers to go out with you to 'show you the ropes'! Go for it!

I bought a AI this year and have plenty of sea kayaking experience but no sailing experience. I say go for it. When I first got my AI I went out on it as much as possible. Go out in light winds, and stronger winds. Play with the furling sail, get used to the controls. I've picked it up quite quickly. I'm sure I'm not the fastest sailor, or the best sailor, but I'm fast enough and good enough to have fun. The absolute best part about these boats for a new sailor is the mirage drive. If you can't quite make a perfect turn like the sailboats, then you peddle through the turn. If you can't quite find the wind, then you peddle through and wait for the wind to catch your sail. It takes no time to learn the basics. If you're going to consider a sailboat of any kind, the AI, or TI is the way to go for a kayaker. It's familiar feeling, but much more stable. It's very safe, and it's the perfect boat to learn on.

I owned a 29' sloop about 15 years ago. 7000 lbs with a 9.9 hp motor. Everytime we took it out we thought we were going to die (well maybe not die, but we were always afreaid we were going to tip the sucker over!).

We took the TI out last weekend with winds gusting over 20 knots (we've only been out a few times so far) and had an absolute blast. AIs and TIs are no-brainer sailboats for people who want to get a rush out of sailing without all the problems of the bigger boats.

They are brilliantly designed, an idiot (like me) can sail them, they are an absolute RIOT, and you really have to try hard to tip them over.

The one drawback I have seen - it is heavy. Save your back and get a trailer with your new TI!

You can learn to sail in a day and keep learning for a lifetime. We have a TI and have had a lot of fun with it. I have sailed a lot of different boats and the TI or AI are the easiest to control. Hobie has a lot of data on sailing on there webpage. All you really need to know to start is on this page. http://www.hobiecat.com/experience/learn.html

Best of all is the calm you feel sailing.

_________________“Remember life is short- eat dessert first.”The world is 70% water – So that means we should spend 70% more time sailing than mowing lawns!Larry

I am a much more dedicated Sea Kayaker than my wife and she refuses to keep up on her safety skills for open water trips. She wants something she doesn't have to work so hard for, and that she doesn't have to learn to roll or do paddlefloat re-entries. I am also looking for something my son and I can fish from together and the TI looks like it has great flexibility for that and hitting smaller bodies of water without the sail and amas.

I am taking my wife to look at one Saturday and may be hitting the chesapeake by Sunday afternoon.

One thing I love about the Hobie kayaks, compared to my traditional kayak is the time that it takes to get launched. The sit on top design is SO convenient, you spend less time getting into a sprayskirt, and dressing up, and more time out enjoying yourself. Don't let the sit on top design fool you into thinking that you can't brace either. A traditional sit on top kayak makes it impossible to brace, but on a Hobie Mirage kayak, you can always hang on with both hands, while you're feet propel you forward. This means that you can get the boat to react to the water conditions by using your hands to lean the boat one way or another. Finally, the best thing about the Mirage Drive, is that you are always at your most efficient stroke. We all get a little lazy with our regular paddle stroke, but the mirage drive is always crazy efficient, and therefore fun.

I bought my AI purely for the sailing ability and expected to lose out on the fun of kayaking, but was amazed at how much I enjoy it in pure adventure mode (no sails or ama's) My wife's Revolution is a bit more like a barge, which is good for her, it's very steady and always level with the water. My Adventure (AI, but no sail etc) is much more lively on the water, it leans well, and has some secondary stability. What I love most is with it's turbo fins, its faster then my old sea kayak. The traditional kayak has more glide to it, but the efficiency of the turbo fins make it really fast. When I crank the rudder from straight to a turn, the whole boat aggressively leans like a motorboat into the turn.

The TI won't be as lively as a kayak, but with the two of you pedalling, it will be plenty fast, and you'll find that you spend WAY more time enjoying WHERE you're paddling, instead of simply enjoying the fact THAT you're paddling. Oh, and instead of paddling, you'll be pedalling.

Here is a clip of us getting up close and personal with some beavers... it shows you things that you just can't do with a pedal kayak.

If you haven't quite persuaded your wife yet, why not rent an AI for a day from Bluehaven boat yard (bluehavenpiers.com). The boatyard is in Ridge Maryland, miles from anywhere , but it is set on a perfect creek, inlet for safe (easy) AI sailing , with an option to head out into the Potomac/chesapeake bay if you're feeling brave.

It's where I caught the AI bug, and where I bought my TI. Dan and Darden are great guys and will explain all you need to know to be safe and have fun.

Of course yes! Sailing the TI require sailing skills because if you don't have skill maybe you can not handle properly that TI. May be if your looking someone sailing TI you can tell to your self the "Ohw its too easy". But when you are in the action its too different. You need to have skills on something that you want to try because single mistake you made you can die.